The present invention generally concerns improved casing components for electric utility meters and, more particularly, concerns a meter casing assembly with snap-connecting inner modules that are secured and stabilized by an outer cover that encloses the inner modules.
There are a wide variety of utilized designs that offer a means for casing the components of an electric utility meter. Any number of such designs may be employed depending on specific applications of such a meter, including the commercial environment in which a meter is exposed.
It is typically ideal to construct a meter casing that is easily assembled as well as disassembled to ensure ready access to internal components of an electric meter. Potential accessibility of a meter once it has an established location in the field is aided by several design characteristics. It is desired to utilize a minimum number of parts needed to accomplish full functionality of an electric utility meter casing. It may also be ideal to exclude component parts in a meter casing assembly such as screws or clips, since such parts may be difficult to remove and could easily be misplaced.
Another inherent goal of an electric utility meter casing is to provide adequate protection of its internal components. Such protection is achieved through utilization of various meter casing components, and the stability of such casing components is essential to ensuring proper protection. A utility meter may endure significant movement of its internal and external components during shipping or installation or if accidentally dropped. It is thus ideal to provide a fully stabilized meter casing that ensures safeguarded protection of a meter""s components.
Present meter designs are known to include pancake-like casing components that house the electronic circuit boards of an electric utility meter. These xe2x80x9cpancakesxe2x80x9d are stacked on top of one another and held in place by rotating latches, which are operated by screws. Thus, in order to access any of the lower circuit boards (or pancakes), each pancake would need to be unlatched and removed. This characteristic makes for a difficult disassembly process and also incorporates undesired connective parts.
Another application of the above-referenced meter casing utilizes a xe2x80x9ctwistingxe2x80x9d design, whereby similar circular pancakes are stacked then twisted together. However, a disadvantage to this design is that only an annular detent prevents the uppermost pancake from rotating. Dropping the meter, or even mere shipping, could xe2x80x9cuntwistxe2x80x9d the inner pancakes and loosen the connections. This would not be visible unless the outer cover was actually removed. Thus, the stability of such a meter casing is not properly ensured.
Another known meter casing design provides a method for snapping the meter""s circular inner modules together. In order to ensure that the snaps do not deflect inwards on their own accord (thereby releasing the modules from one another), clips, or additional parts, are incorporated to slide behind the snaps and hold them in place. Such clips are difficult to remove and might be misplaced in the field.
Yet another known meter casing design makes use of tapered mounting posts and various snap fit features for providing a stable meter construction without requiring screws or other additional fastener elements. However, the outer cover of this casing design, as well as that of the other designs referenced herein, plays no role in stabilizing the inner casing modules.
While various aspects and alternative casing features are known in the electric utility meter field, no one design has emerged that generally encompasses all of the above-referenced ideal assembly characteristics.
In view of the discussed drawbacks and shortcomings encountered in the prior art, an improved utility meter casing has been developed. Thus, broadly speaking, a general object of the invention is improved casing structure for an electric utility meter.
It is another general object of the present invention to provide an electric utility meter casing assembly with inner modules that are snap-connected together and subsequently stabilized by an outer cover.
It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an electric utility meter casing including inner covers that are used to house and protect various electronic components of an electric utility meter.
It is a further principal object of the present invention to provide a plurality of projections extending from inner covers of a meter for mutually interconnecting the inner covers.
It is another principal object of the present invention to provide an electric utility meter casing including an outer cover that encloses the inner covers and mutually interconnects with at least one of the inner covers, providing a stabilized modular casing assembly.
It is another principal object of the present invention to provide an electric utility meter casing that is easily assembled and consequently easily disassembled in the event that a meter casing need to be removed for access to or repair of specific electronic components of a meter.
It is yet another principal object of the present invention to provide an electric utility meter casing that incorporates a minimum number of parts to accomplish full functionality.
It is a further principal object of the present invention to provide an electric utility meter casing that does not involve loose parts that are easily lost or misplaced, such as screws or clips, thereby providing field technicians with easier access to a meter.
It is another object of the present invention to provide enhanced structural stability between inner covers of an electric utility meter casing, such stability achieved through the use of pairs of pins and mating holes as well as the use of interconnected adjacent flanges extending from selected of the inner covers.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an electric utility meter casing that restricts undesired movement of inner components, achieved by securing the snap-connections of inner covers between flanges and an outer cover.
It is another object of the present invention to ensure the restriction of undesired movement of inner components, achieved by the use of cantilevered springs and containment ribs that eliminate any gaps between inner and outer casing components.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention are set forth in, or will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from, the detailed description herein. Also, it should be further appreciated that modifications and variations to the specifically illustrated, referred and discussed features hereof may be practiced in various embodiments and uses of this invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, by virtue of present reference thereto. Such variations may include, but are not limited to, substitution of equivalent means and features for those illustrated, referenced or discussed, and the functional, operational or positional reversal of various parts, features or the like.
Still further, it is to be understood that different embodiments, as well as different presently preferred embodiments, of this invention may include various combinations or configurations of presently disclosed features or elements, or their equivalents (including combinations of features or parts or configurations thereof not expressly shown in the figures or stated in the detailed description). One exemplary such embodiment in the present invention relates to an electric utility meter casing. Such arrangement may comprise a baseplate, a first inner cover, at least a second inner cover, an outer cover and a plurality of various projections extending from selected of the inner covers.
More preferably, the inner covers house and protect various electronic components for an electric utility meter. The inner cover projections are utilized for mutually interconnecting selected of the inner covers together. Ideally, the outer cover also mutually interconnects with at least one of the inner covers.
Another present exemplary embodiment of the present invention concerns an electric utility meter with selected casing components. Such utility meter in combination may variously comprise a baseplate, a first inner casing component, baseplate securement means, at least a second inner casing component, inner casing securement means, an outer casing component, and outer casing securement means.
More preferably, the baseplate and first inner casing component both include a plurality of openings to accommodate baseplate securement means interconnecting the two components. The baseplate securement means ideally utilizes rivets that are passed through the baseplate openings and the first case openings. The inner casing securement means includes a plurality of projections extending from selected of the inner casing components. Furthermore, the outer casing securement means involves the use of containment extensions projecting from selected of the inner casing components to which an outer cover is connected.
Yet another exemplary embodiment of the present invention involves an electric utility meter that includes various combinations of the foregoing casing features, further including various electronic components for use in an electric utility meter. Ideally such electronic components would include a combination of electronic circuit boards and current transformers.
Still further exemplary embodiments of the present invention involve various combinations of the foregoing features, further including flanges extending from the inner covers, a plurality of ribs and snaps for removably securing selected inner and outer covers together, and cantilevered springs and containment ribs for preventing movement of components within the modular casing assembly. In such embodiments and others, further features may be provided in varying combinations concerning the snap-connecting securement of selected components together in a modular electric utility meter casing assembly.
Additional embodiments of the subject invention, not necessarily expressed in this summarized section, may include and incorporate various combinations of aspects of features or parts referenced in the summarized objectives above, and/or other features or parts as otherwise discussed in this application.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will better appreciate the features and aspects of such embodiments, and others, upon review of the remainder of the specification.